Bakken Boomtowns

The New Oil Boom

A gas flare rises near an abandoned building on July 22, 2013 outside Williston, North Dakota. Gas flares are created when excess flammable gases are released unexpectedly by pressure release valves during the drilling for oil and natural gas.

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The New Oil Boom

A gas flare rises near an abandoned building on July 22, 2013 outside Williston, North Dakota. Gas flares are created when excess flammable gases are released unexpectedly by pressure release valves during the drilling for oil and natural gas.

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The New Oil Boom

Sections of pipe ready to be welded together and placed into the ground sit in preparation on July 28, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D. North Dakota has been experiencing an oil boom in recent years, due in part to new drilling techniques including hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.

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The New Oil Boom

Glen Crabtree, a floor hand for Raven Drilling, waits to line up pipe while drilling for oil in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D. Workers for Raven Drilling work 12-hour days, working 14 days straight, and then having 14 days off. They stay at a camp nearby.

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The New Oil Boom

Ray Gerish, a floor hand for Raven Drilling, works on an oil rig drilling into the Bakken shale formation on July 28, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D. In April 2013, The United States Geological Survey released a new study estimating the Bakken formation and surrounding oil fields could yield up to 7.4 billion barrels of oil, doubling their estimate of 2008 of 3.65 billion barrels of oil.

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The New Oil Boom

Workers with Raven Drilling line up pipe while drilling for oil in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D. "If you're not working out here, there's no excuses. I went to prison for six years - it doesn't matter what your past is," Allyn said.

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The New Oil Boom

Russell Girsh, a floor hand for Raven Drilling, pauses while drilling for oil in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

A gas flare is seen in an aerial view in the early morning hours of July 30, 2013 near Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

Clint "Peaches" Hulsey, takes a swig of water while drilling for oil on a derrick in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

Ray Gerish, a floor hand for Raven Drilling, works on an oil rig drilling into the Bakken shale formation on July 28, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

Phillip Chambers, a driller for Raven Drilling, takes a break while drilling for oil in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

An oil derrick operated by Raven Drilling drills for oil in the Bakken shale formation on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

Oil workers clothing hang on hooks at Target Logistics' Bear Paw Lodge, a long-term camp specifically set up for oil workers, on July 24, 2013 in Williston, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

A trailer park occupied mostly by oil workers is seen in an aerial view in the early morning hours of July 30, 2013 near Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

A woman makes tortillas in a make-shift restaurant, constructed of plywood and two-by-fours and attached to an RV, on July 23, 2013 outside Watford City, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

Patrons dance to live music in a bar on July 27, 2013 in Williston, N.D.

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The New Oil Boom

Police officers apprehend a man outside a bar after a bar room brawl on July 26, 2013 in Williston, N.D. The state has seen a rise in crime, automobile accidents and drug usage recently, due in part to the oil boom which has brought tens of thousands of jobs to the region, lowering state unemployment and bringing a surplus to the state budget.

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The New Oil Boom

People rush into Walmart after the doors open on July 28, 2013 in Williston, N.D. Before the current oil boom, Williston's economy has struggled; the city's last prosperous period ended in the 1980s, when the last oil boom dried up.

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The New Oil Boom

Jarrin Larson, a native of Williston, mows his lawn while a construction crew replaces storm drains along his street on July 22, 2013 in Williston, N.D. Williston has been at the center of the oil boom in North Dakota, which has fundamentally changed the small town. In 2010, the permanent population was 14,715; city planners are estimating that by 2017 the population will have doubled to 28,658.

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The New Oil Boom

A gas flare is seen at an oil well site on July 26, 2013 outside Williston, North Dakota.